Sometimes when you want a good homemade meal but don’t have a lot of time, you want something that won’t take hours to make. This Quick Ziti with Italian Sausage and Spinach is a great choice because it’s a delicious complete meal that can come together in under an hour. Here’s how to make it:
Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil for cooking the ziti. In the meantime, sauté a medium chopped onion in 2 Tbl. olive oil until tender. Once onions are tender, add in 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook until just fragrant and then add 1 pound of sweet Italian sausage, out of the casing, and broken into pieces.
Once meat is browned and cooked through, add a 32 oz. jar of you favorite pasta sauce, 1 cup of water, and 1/4 cup of dried parsley. Mix well and simmer for 10 minutes. I like to use Casa Visco brand pasta sauce because it does not contain sugar.
After sauce has simmered for 10 min., add 8 oz. of baby spinach and stir well until wilted and continue simmering the sauce until the pasta is done and al dente. Check to see if you need to add salt and pepper. Just before adding the pasta, remove the sauce from the heat and stir in 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese. Once cheese is stirred in, add the cooked ziti but save some of the pasta water to thin the sauce if necessary.
Serve the pasta with additional grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy and happy cooking!
Prep Time: 15 min. Cooking Time: 20 min
Difficulty: Easy Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
1 pound box of Ziti pasta
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lb. Italian sausage out of the casing and broken into pieces
32 oz. jar or your favorite pasta sauce or Casa Visco brand
1 cup water
1/4 cup dried parsley
8 oz. baby spinach
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
salt & pepper to taste